Malaga Cove craft beer company brewing up interest

Two weeks ago, Brian Mercer and Nick Brown stopped by Father's Office in Santa Monica to people watch. The two friends each had a beer and a hamburger while they observed what the crowd drew to their lips.

The night out - like previous jaunts to other pubs - served as a covert way to see who drinks the brew from their new craft beer company, Brouwerij West.

But the two owners say they don't let on who they are. "No we are so shy," Mercer, 36, said. "We go in and hide in the corner, and have a beer. And just see how many people are drinking it, then get out."

The two partners, who launched the company in August, brew by night in a rented space in Irvine, store their product in Compton and run the business from a one-room office located in a Spanish-style building in Malaga Cove.

Three weeks ago, the two Los Angeles-area residents stayed up through the night, brewing a 30-barrel batch from midnight until noon.

"We're kind of no frills," said Mercer, who also owns Dark Candi Inc., a firm that sells Belgian sugars and syrups to breweries. "It's not like a rap video. There's no women. There's no diamonds. There's no Ferraris."

The company's first, and only beer, a Belgian-style blond, is a simple nod to the traditional Belgian brew, and referred to by Mercer as "table beer." Made from imported ingredients, the beer is dry and smooth compared to American-style Belgian beers, the owners say, well suited to accompany a wide variety of foods.

The blond is "relatively strong flavored, because it has a complexity of flavor," said Brown,a Venice resident who previously worked at a Napa Valley winery. "But it's not too sweet. It's not too bitter. It's very balanced."

"Our goal is refreshing beer with a Belgian influence and a California home," the company's website says, and its name, Brouwerij West, reflects that dynamic. (Brouwerij is the Flemish spelling of brewery and pronounced as it would be in English.)

As the company has evolved, its owners have learned and adjusted.

"It's taken us a year to get the product the way we want it - this first beer," Mercer said. "But now we got the new dimension of keeping up with demand (by) increasing the supply and maintaining the same flavor and quality."

The partners kick-started Brouwerij West in the midst of tough economic times, but also during a rising appreciation for their craft.

Overall, U.S. beer sales fell 2.2 percent last year by volume, but craft brews fared better, rising 7.2 percent, according to the Brewers Association, a trade group for American small brewers.

"Beer drinkers are turning toward more flavorful beers," said Paul Gatza, the association's director. "It's not just for beer. Artisanal cheese makers are connecting with customers now You see artisanal bakers all over the place. People are looking for more flavors in their products, and beer happens to be one of those."

Mercer and Brown say renting a brewery has allowed the company to grow quicker, and let them focus on their only product - beer.

"We thought that by renting a brewery our start-up costs would be smaller. And then if it worked out, and the people liked the brand and the beer, then we could continue to increase production and scale," Mercer said.

Dark Candi Company LLC, which does business under the Brouwerij West name, is currently working on three new beers, including a Belgian-style tripel, a strong golden beer, due out in December.

"We'd like to do four or five beers really well and really make them our own,"said Mercer, who lives in Rancho Palos Verdes.

The young company has participated in several events around Los Angeles since its inception, including LA Beer Week, an 11-day celebration that ends this Sunday.

"(The craft brew scene) is starting to pop in that part of Southern California," Gatza said. "It's a good time to be a beer drinker there, because we are entering an age of greater exploration and greater possibilities."

Eight weeks into distribution, Brouwerij West's beer is in about 20 bars and restaurants throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. A keg the company supplied in August to the Manhattan Beach bar Simmzy's sold out in two days, the company said.

"Now we really got to be on our toes, because you know our ass is on the line," Mercer said. "Just the fact that they like it, you want to just keep that going."